Friday, June 29, 2012

We hope that you are having a great 4th of July Week! We are celebrating here in our community all week with some of the festivities starting this week end and other going all the way through the next week end. Since the 4th is falling on Wednesday in the middle of the week everyone decided to just celebrate both week ends. Everyone loves a parade and lots of good food over the 4th, it is the American way, and that is just what we will be doing.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

It's Full Plate Thursday Where All The Greatest Cooks On The Planet Gather

We have been busy canning here at The Cottage and trying to keep up the abundant harvest that we have been given this year, it is awesome. We are also getting ready for our 4th of July Celebration, that will be over two week ends this year. Some of the little community festivities will be this week end, then a big fireworks show on the 4th. Our little community will have their annual parade and bake sale on the 7th. WoW we are going to be busy! I know that all of you are very busy right now with wonderful summer activities and I am so excited that you took the time to come by today. I can hardly wait to see what you are sharing with us today, so lets get right to it. Thank you so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday and sure hope you will come back real soon!

When
we were young and just
starting out in life sometimes we did not have a
lot of money. Most of our friends were
having to stretch the dollars
at the end of the month just like us. My
girlfriends and I decided that we
would pool our food for some of the
evening meals right before payday...
the last week of the month. I have some
of the fondest memories from those
days. We would all bring our food
together and we had some great food and
great fellowship. We would get the
food on the table and everything ready,
someone would bless the food and
then the hostess would say "come fill your
plate".
I have just a few suggestions before you leave your dish and fill your plate.

Link directly to YOUR RECIPE and not to your web page.

Scroll down to the button that says "click here to enter"

You
will be asked to give your
URL ( which will be your direct link to your
post), the name of your recipe, and
your email which we will not be able to
see.

Then you will be asked to select a thumbnail from your post that will be uploaded to your entry.

Please include a link back to Full Plate Thursday, somewhere on your post. We will give you a gentle reminder if you forget...

Please leave me a comment before you leave the page and let me know that you are here, I want to be a good hostess.

Don't
forget to visit with all
the others, after all that is part of the
fellowship that makes it so much fun,
in addition to all the good food of
course...

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Most folks who have lived in Texas and love to Grill or Bar B Que have a great Smoked Brisket recipe. All the recipes vary somewhat as well as the cooking methods, however I have yet to eat a bad Smoked Brisket. Recently we had our Annual Picnic for our friends and one of the things we had on the menu was our Smoked Texas Brisket. Today I am sharing our Smoked Texas Brisket recipe with all of you.

Rendered Brisket Fat
Trim the brisket of excess fat leaving at least 1/4 inch of fat to ensure moisture and taste. Place the trimmed fat in a hot sauce pan and cook until the fat is rendered. Strain in a glass container. The Rendered Fat can be frozen for up to 3 months. It gives a lot of added flavor to your grilled steaks.

Bar B Que Sauce
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves minced Garlic
1 cup Ketchup
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire
1/2 cup Honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
In a medium sauce pan sweat the onions until clear. Add all the remaining ingredients mixing well. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 15 minutes. The Sauce will be ready for use at that point. Will store in a glass container in the refrigerator for several weeks.

The Method
Wash and dry the Brisket. Trim the Fat leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch of fat on the Brisket. Rub the brisket all over very good with the Brisket Rub (see recipe above). Place in a glass container cover with clear wrap and refrigerate overnight.

The Fire
We use Pecan Wood and sometimes Mesquite Wood

The temperature of the fire is 300 degrees when we place the brisket on the cooking rack. Fat cap is up because the fire is to one side. The temperature will drop to between 250 and 225, we want it to come back down to 225.

The Stall
After about 3 hours the inside temperature of meat will reach about 150 degrees. This is what is referred to as The Stall.
It is at this point that we begin to mop the hot Mop Sauce on the meat
Mop the meat frequently to keep it moistened during this period
The meat will stay at this temperature for about 4 to 5 hours.

Finish and Rest
When the inside temperature of the meat reaches 175 degrees, we remove it from the fire and wrap it in foil paper, then wrap it in a heavy terry towel, then we place it in a plastic cooler to rest for about 2 to 3 hours.

Slice The Brisket
Slice The Brisket against the grain with a very sharp knife

It is ready to serve or can be frozen for future use. If we are freezing it I pour a little of the mop sauce over the brisket to keep it moist in the re-heating process.

Rub The Brisket

Render The Fat

Store The Rendered Fat In A Glass Container

Fire Up The Smoker

Make The Mop

At The Stall Begin To Mop

Wrap In Foil

Wrap In Terry Towel

Slice The Brisket

Enjoy!

I Serve The Bar B Que Sauce On The Side

This is an all day process, but well worth it. Just gather up some friends good music and cool drinks and enjoy the day, at the end the reward is some of the best brisket ever.

I sure am glad that you stopped by to enjoy some of this Smoked Texas Brisket with us. Of course I have a little bag of brisket for you to take home and enjoy. Your visits are always special to me so I hope you will come back soon!

Friday, June 22, 2012

We are so busy with our garden and canning season right now. We just love all the wonderful fresh vegetables from the garden. We do a lot of canning and what we don't can we freeze and then we give away veggies to those who don't have a garden. We have garden vegetables at just about all our meals, it truly is the good ole summer time! Come on to the back porch with me, I am shelling fresh Black Eyed Peas today and we can visit about the menu for next week.

I am so glad you were able to stop by today, I always have so much fun when we can visit. I have a basket of Black Eyed Peas for you so don't forget them. Enjoy your drive back to the city and be sure and come back to see me soon!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

It's Full Plate Thursday Where All The Greatest Cooks On The Planet Gather

Happy Summer Everyone!

Hope all of you had a very special Fathers Day week end. We were treated to the nicest Fathers Day by one of our very close friends who were celebrating their very first Fathers day and then an overnight with family. I love going to the City, it is always a lot of fun to visit with friends and family. I am so excited to see all of you today, the weather is just perfect today for a Full Plate Thursday Picnic. We are headed to the back where we have all the picnic tables set up for us to enjoy our day together. Lets get your food on the table, I can't wait to see what you brought. Thank you so much for coming today and sure hope you will come back soon!

When
we were young and just
starting out in life sometimes we did not have a
lot of money. Most of our friends were
having to stretch the dollars
at the end of the month just like us. My
girlfriends and I decided that we
would pool our food for some of the
evening meals right before payday...
the last week of the month. I have some
of the fondest memories from those
days. We would all bring our food
together and we had some great food and
great fellowship. We would get the
food on the table and everything ready,
someone would bless the food and
then the hostess would say "come fill your
plate".
I have just a few suggestions before you leave your dish and fill your plate.

Link directly to YOUR RECIPE and not to your web page.

Scroll down to the button that says "click here to enter"

You
will be asked to give your
URL ( which will be your direct link to your
post), the name of your recipe, and
your email which we will not be able to
see.

Then you will be asked to select a thumbnail from your post that will be uploaded to your entry.

Please include a link back to Full Plate Thursday, somewhere on your post. We will give you a gentle reminder if you forget...

Please leave me a comment before you leave the page and let me know that you are here, I want to be a good hostess.

Don't
forget to visit with all
the others, after all that is part of the
fellowship that makes it so much fun,
in addition to all the good food of
course...

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

We just love to be in our outdoor kitchen, get the grill fired up and create great summertime meals. This Grilled Chipotle Chicken with Chipotle Cream Sauce is one of those creations. It had such a wonderful flavor and we enjoyed it so much I wanted to share it with all of you. It will be a great recipe for entertaining or a nice family meal.

Grilled Chipotle Chicken with Chipotle Cream Sauce

Grilled Chipotle Chicken with Chipotle Cream Sauce

Miz Helen's Kitchen

Grilled Chipotle Chicken

4 large Skinless Chicken Breast with Rib Meat and Bone

The Rub

1 teaspoon Cumin

3/4 teaspoon Chipotle Chili Pepper Powder

1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Pepper

Mix all the seasons together

Rub the seasons all over the Chicken Breast on both sides

Set the Chicken aside in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before grilling

Grill on the grill until the internal temperature reaches 165 to 175 degrees

Remove the Chicken from the grill and cover, let it set for 10 to 15 minutes before serving to allow the juices to set

The Chipotle Cream Sauce

1 cup Greek Yogurt

1/4 cup Lime Juice

1/2 teaspoon Chipotle Chile Powder

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Pepper

Mix all the ingredients, add more Lime Juice for desired consistency

Chill for 30 minutes before serving

This sauce is great and can be used in many different ways. It is great as a dip.

Garnish the Chicken with the Sauce

Enjoy!

I am so excited that you were able to stop by and try out our new creation and sure hope you will enjoy it. Hope you have a great week and come back to see me real soon, I always look forward to you visit!

Friday, June 15, 2012

We had such a great time at our picnic last week, we have really been taking it easy this week. We have been on a stay-cation, taking long walks in the garden and sitting on the back porch just watching the birds. Come on back to the porch with me I have made us some Strawberry Basil Lemonade and it is so good, we can catch up and talk about the menu for next week.

Sunday

Fathers Day

Off To The City For The Day
(Shhh It's A Surprise Dinner For Leonard)
I Am Bringing

I sure am glad you could stop by this morning and have some Lemonade and visit for awhile. I have some fresh tomatoes for you to take back to town with you so don't forget them. Your visits are always so special to me so I hope that you will come back real soon!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

It's Full Plate Thursday Where All The Greatest Cooks On The Planet Gather

I will have to share this funny little story about what happened last week. I was trying so hard last week to let you know that I would be busy with my Annual picnic and wouldn't be by to say hello until latter, that I sent the first 26 of you an email saying I was attending my Granddaughters graduation which had happened several weeks ago, I am so sorry you got the wrong email. Thankfully I caught the mistake and the rest of you knew that we were having our Annual Picnic and I would be by to say hello latter.

Has something like that ever happened to any of you, please tell me I am not the only one.

We are just taking it easy this week and enjoying the beautiful weather we are having right now, having lots of early morning porch time. Come on back and join us we have got the best ice cold herb tea and some awesome Berry Patch Muffins to share today. I can't wait to see what you have to share today so lets get right to it. I am so excited that you came by today and thank you so much for sharing with us, hope to see you again real soon!

When
we were young and just
starting out in life sometimes we did not have a
lot of money. Most of our friends were
having to stretch the dollars
at the end of the month just like us. My
girlfriends and I decided that we
would pool our food for some of the
evening meals right before payday...
the last week of the month. I have some
of the fondest memories from those
days. We would all bring our food
together and we had some great food and
great fellowship. We would get the
food on the table and everything ready,
someone would bless the food and
then the hostess would say "come fill your
plate".
I have just a few suggestions before you leave your dish and fill your plate.

Link directly to YOUR RECIPE and not to your web page.

Scroll down to the button that says "click here to enter"

You
will be asked to give your
URL ( which will be your direct link to your
post), the name of your recipe, and
your email which we will not be able to
see.

Then you will be asked to select a thumbnail from your post that will be uploaded to your entry.

Please include a link back to Full Plate Thursday, somewhere on your post. We will give you a gentle reminder if you forget...

Please leave me a comment before you leave the page and let me know that you are here, I want to be a good hostess.

Don't
forget to visit with all
the others, after all that is part of the
fellowship that makes it so much fun,
in addition to all the good food of
course...

Monday, June 11, 2012

The Fresh Strawberries are in full harvest right now and very plentiful so when I found this recipe it was a perfect choice for this post. I participate in The Secret Recipe Club and every month we are given a secret blog to visit and find a recipe that we would like to present from their blog, my Blog assignment for this month is Secrets from the Cookie Princess . I really thought that I would find a cookie recipe and I did find some awesome cookie recipes, but the recipe I really wanted to present is today's recipe Strawberry Bread. Colleen loves to bake and started her blog in 2010 out of that love. She and her husband Dave, "Chief Tasting Office", make their home in Massachusetts. Colleen has a great blog and I sure hope that you will visit her and tell her Hi from Miz Helen!

Friday, June 8, 2012

We are in the middle of a big week end for us. We are hosting our annual picnic for The Cottage. We will have around 40 guests with lots of good food and fun. We will be having sack races, horse shoe tournament, and lots of catching up with friends. Some of our friends will be staying over the week end so we will be very busy. I sure am glad that you stopped by today so I can have a little break, come back to the porch and we will have some iced tea and talk about the menu for next week.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

It's Full Plate Thursday Where All The Greatest Cooks On The Planet Gather

We are so busy this week getting ready for our Annual Picnic at The Cottage. We are expecting about 40 friends for a cook out and evening bon fire. We will have so much fun and lots of good food. I am so excited to see all of you today, just come on back to the garden, I want to take you on a quick tour of the garden, everything looks so pretty. Garden Tour Link, sure hope your enjoyed the tour, now lets see what you brought to share today, I can almost taste it, it smells so good!! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful recipes with us, I look forward to your visits, and hope you will come back soon!

When
we were young and just
starting out in life sometimes we did not have a
lot of money. Most of our friends were
having to stretch the dollars
at the end of the month just like us. My
girlfriends and I decided that we
would pool our food for some of the
evening meals right before payday...
the last week of the month. I have some
of the fondest memories from those
days. We would all bring our food
together and we had some great food and
great fellowship. We would get the
food on the table and everything ready,
someone would bless the food and
then the hostess would say "come fill your
plate".
I have just a few suggestions before you leave your dish and fill your plate.

Link directly to YOUR RECIPE and not to your web page.

Scroll down to the button that says "click here to enter"

You
will be asked to give your
URL ( which will be your direct link to your
post), the name of your recipe, and
your email which we will not be able to
see.

Then you will be asked to select a thumbnail from your post that will be uploaded to your entry.

Please include a link back to Full Plate Thursday, somewhere on your post. We will give you a gentle reminder if you forget...

Please leave me a comment before you leave the page and let me know that you are here, I want to be a good hostess.

Don't
forget to visit with all
the others, after all that is part of the
fellowship that makes it so much fun,
in addition to all the good food of
course...

Miz Helen

Cookbook Author Recipe Developer Organic Gardner

Welcome to my Country Cottage, come on in and make yourself at home, stay and have a cup of tea. We will be sharing, Miz Helen's Kitchen where we have simple family friendly, meal plans, and recipes. Other features include, The Garden Gate, Quiet Time, Day Trips and Max Time. The blog is the home of Full Plate Thursday and The Texas Star Chili Cook-Off. Enjoy your time here, leave me a note I love hearing from you!

Max A Resident At The Cottage

All posts on this blog are original content and may not be copied or paraphrased. You may use one photo with a brief description and a link back to my blog for roundups and collections. A comment on the post or an email is appreciated when using my photos.This blog was created for entertainment purposes only. Read my full disclosure here